scholarly journals Is PTSD-Phenotype Associated with HPA-Axis Sensitivity? Feedback Inhibition and Other Modulating Factors of Glucocorticoid Signaling Dynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 6050
Author(s):  
Dor Danan ◽  
Doron Todder ◽  
Joseph Zohar ◽  
Hagit Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Feedback Inhibition ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Fk506 Binding Protein ◽  
Signaling Dynamics ◽  
Glucocorticoid Signaling ◽  
Corticosterone Response ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Previously, we found that basal corticosterone pulsatility significantly impacts the vulnerability for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rats that exhibited PTSD-phenotype were characterized by blunted basal corticosterone pulsatility amplitude and a blunted corticosterone response to a stressor. This study sought to identify the mechanisms underlining both the loss of pulsatility and differences in downstream responses. Serial blood samples were collected manually via jugular vein cannula at 10-min intervals to evaluate suppression of corticosterone following methylprednisolone administration. The rats were exposed to predator scent stress (PSS) after 24 h, and behavioral responses were assessed 7 days post-exposure for retrospective classification into behavioral response groups. Brains were harvested for measurements of the glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor, FK506-binding protein-51 and arginine vasopressin in specific brain regions to assess changes in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) regulating factors. Methylprednisolone produced greater suppression of corticosterone in the PTSD-phenotype group. During the suppression, the PTSD-phenotype rats showed a significantly more pronounced pulsatile activity. In addition, the PTSD-phenotype group showed distinct changes in the ventral and dorsal CA1, dentate gyrus as well as in the paraventricular nucleus and supra-optic nucleus. These results demonstrate a pre-trauma vulnerability state that is characterized by an over-reactivity of the HPA and changes in its regulating factors.

scholarly journals Genetic and Neuroimaging Approaches to Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4503
Author(s):  
Sabah Nisar ◽  
Ajaz A. Bhat ◽  
Sheema Hashem ◽  
Najeeb Syed ◽  
Santosh K. Yadav ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Social Burden ◽  
Post Traumatic

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly disabling condition, increasingly recognized as both a disorder of mental health and social burden, but also as an anxiety disorder characterized by fear, stress, and negative alterations in mood. PTSD is associated with structural, metabolic, and molecular changes in several brain regions and the neural circuitry. Brain areas implicated in the traumatic stress response include the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, which play an essential role in memory function. Abnormalities in these brain areas are hypothesized to underlie symptoms of PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders. Conventional methods of studying PTSD have proven to be insufficient for diagnosis, measurement of treatment efficacy, and monitoring disease progression, and currently, there is no diagnostic biomarker available for PTSD. A deep understanding of cutting-edge neuroimaging genetic approaches is necessary for the development of novel therapeutics and biomarkers to better diagnose and treat the disorder. A current goal is to understand the gene pathways that are associated with PTSD, and how those genes act on the fear/stress circuitry to mediate risk vs. resilience for PTSD. This review article explains the rationale and practical utility of neuroimaging genetics in PTSD and how the resulting information can aid the diagnosis and clinical management of patients with PTSD.

scholarly journals Structural Brain Alterations in Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052095962
Author(s):  
Julia C. Daugherty ◽  
Juan Verdejo-Román ◽  
Miguel Pérez-García ◽  
Natalia Hidalgo-Ruzzante
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Female Survivors ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Structural Brain ◽  
Structural Brain Alterations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been related to brain alterations in female survivors. Nonetheless, few studies have used an exploratory approach, focusing on brain regions that are traditionally studied in other populations with post-traumatic stress. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), strangulation, and childhood trauma are highly prevalent among this population, and have also been associated with brain alterations and functional deterioration. As such, it is difficult to determine how different brain regions are affected by the complex interplay of these factors in female survivors. The aim of this study is to assess (a) brain alterations in female survivors of IPV as compared to non-victim females and (b) the potential causal mechanisms associated with such alterations. We hypothesized that structural brain differences would be found between female survivors of IPV and non-victims, and that these differences would be related to IPV-related TBI, strangulation, IPV severity, depression, post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety, and childhood adverse experiences. A total of 27 non-victims and 28 survivors completed structural magnetic resonance imaging and questionnaires to measure the potential causal mechanisms for brain alterations. Structural brain differences were found between groups, principally in volumetric analyses. The brain regions in which between-group differences were found were related to attempted strangulation, IPV-related TBI, severity of IPV, adverse childhood experiences, and post-traumatic stress. These results demonstrate that a wider range of brain regions may be impacted by IPV and that various factors are implicated in the structural brain alterations found in female survivors. This study demonstrates the importance of post-traumatic stress, childhood and adult trauma, and physical violence in assessing brain alterations in IPV survivors. Further, it serves as a critical first step in assessing an extensive list of potential causal mechanisms for structural brain alterations, using a more comprehensive a whole-brain structural analysis of IPV female victims, a largely understudied and vulnerable population.

scholarly journals Inflammation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Review of Potential Correlates of PTSD with a Neurological Perspective

Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy D. Kim ◽  
Suji Lee ◽  
Sujung Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Inflammatory Markers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Psychosocial Burden ◽  
Trauma Types ◽  
Post Traumatic

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic condition characterized by symptoms of physiological and psychosocial burden. While growing research demonstrated signs of inflammation in PTSD, specific biomarkers that may be representative of PTSD such as the detailed neural correlates underlying the inflammatory responses in relation to trauma exposure are seldom discussed. Here, we review recent studies that explored alterations in key inflammatory markers in PTSD, as well as neuroimaging-based studies that further investigated signs of inflammation within the brain in PTSD, as to provide a comprehensive summary of recent literature with a neurological perspective. A search was conducted on studies published from 2009 through 2019 in PubMed and Web of Science. Fifty original articles were selected. Major findings included elevated levels of serum proinflammatory cytokines in individuals with PTSD across various trauma types, as compared with those without PTSD. Furthermore, neuroimaging-based studies demonstrated that altered inflammatory markers are associated with structural and functional alterations in brain regions that are responsible for the regulation of stress and emotion, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal cortex. Future studies that utilize both central and peripheral inflammatory markers are warranted to elucidate the underlying neurological pathway of the pathophysiology of PTSD.

Hypersensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to naloxone in post-traumatic stress disorder

1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 585-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory I. Hockings ◽  
Jeffrey E. Grice ◽  
Warren K. Ward ◽  
Margaret M. Walters ◽  
Graeme R. Jensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽  
Adrenal Axis ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Pituitary Adrenal Axis

scholarly journals Label-free Lipidome Study of Paraventricular Thalamic Nucleus (PVT) of Rat Brain with Post-Traumatic Stress Injury by Raman Imaging

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardalan Chaichi ◽  
Syed Mohammad Abid Hasan ◽  
Nishir Mehta ◽  
Fabrizio Donnarumma ◽  
Philip Ebenezer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Injury ◽  
Biochemical Alterations ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Concentration Changes

<a>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a widespread psychiatric injury that develops serious life-threatening symptoms like substance abuse, severe depression, cognitive impairments and persistent anxiety. However, the mechanisms of post-traumatic stress injury in brain is poorly understood due to the lack of practical methods to reveal biochemical alterations in various brain regions affected by this type of injury. Here, we introduce a novel method that provides quantitative results from Raman maps in paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) region. By means of this approach, we have shown a lipidome comparison in PVT regions of control and PTSD rat brains. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry was also employed for validation of the Raman results. Lipid alterations can reveal invaluable information regarding the PTSD mechanisms in affected regions of brain. We have showed that the concentration of cholesterol, cholesteryl palmitate, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin, ganglioside, glyceryl tripalmitate and sulfatide changes in the PVT region of PTSD compared to control rats. Higher concentration of cholesterol suggests the higher level of corticosterone in brain.</a><sup>1</sup> Moreover, concentration changes of phospholipids and sphingolipids suggest the alteration of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) which is associated with inflammatory processes in the brain. Our results have broadened the understanding of biomolecular mechanisms for PTSD in PVT region of brain. This is the first report regarding the application of Raman spectroscopy for PTSD studies. This method has a wide spectrum of applications and can be applied to various other brain related disorders or other regions of brain.

scholarly journals Valeriana jatamansi Jones ex Roxb. Against Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Network Pharmacological Analysis, and In Vivo Evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Yang ◽  
Jian-You Guo ◽  
Ya-Ni Jiang ◽  
Meng-Meng Liu ◽  
Qiu-Yu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Ethanol Extract ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Valeriana Jatamansi ◽  
Post Traumatic

Zhi zhu xiang (ZZX) is the root and rhizome of Valeriana jatamansi Jones ex Roxb. Recent studies have shown that ZZX can exert antianxiety, antidepressant, and sedative effects. Because post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is similar to depression and anxiety in terms of its etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations, it is possible that ZZX may also be useful for the prevention and treatment of PTSD. In this study, a mouse model of PTSD was established and used to study the pharmacological action of a 95% ethanol extract of ZZX on PTSD via a series of classic behavioral tests. We found that a 95% ethanol extract of ZZX was indeed effective for relieving the symptoms of PTSD in mice. Moreover, network pharmacology analysis was used to predict the potential active ingredients, targets, and possible pathways of ZZX in the treatment of PTSD. The neurotransmitter system, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and the endocannabinoid (eCB) system were identified to be the most likely pathways for anti-PTSD action in ZZX. Due to the lack of a falsification mechanism in network pharmacology, in vivo tests were carried out in mice, and the expression levels of neurotransmitters, hormones, and genes of key targets were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time PCR to further verify this inference. Analysis showed that the levels of norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and glutamic acid were increased in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala of PTSD mice, while the levels of dopamine and γ-aminobutyric acid were decreased in these brain regions; furthermore, ZZX could restore the expression of these factors, at least to a certain extent. The levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone, and corticotropin-releasing hormone were increased in these different brain regions and the serum of PTSD mice; these effects could be reversed by ZZX to a certain extent. The expression levels of cannabinoid receptor 1 and diacylglycerol lipase α mRNA were decreased in PTSD mice, while the levels of fatty acid amide hydrolase and monoacylglycerol lipase mRNA were increased; these effects were restored by ZZX to a certain extent. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ZZX may provide new therapeutic pathways for treating PTSD by the regulation of neurotransmitters, the HPA, and expression levels of eCB-related genes in the brain.

Executive Function in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Newman ◽  
Charles R. Marmar
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Neurocognitive Deficits ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic

This chapter discusses the role of executive function in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is far from fully understood. Deficits are subtle and findings are often inconsistent. Impairments have been related to worsening of psychological symptoms, functioning, and quality of life. They can also negatively impact treatment. Functional imaging shows that neurocognitive deficits in PTSD may be related to an imbalance in brain connectivity, where emotion processing is enhanced and control is reduced. Structural findings show abnormalities in brain regions involved in higher-level functions. However, findings are often discrepant. Factors related to these inconclusive results are considered, including developmental course, premorbid functioning, and comorbidities such as traumatic brain injury, depression, substance use, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, health behaviors, and medical concerns. Treatment implications, limitations of this work, and future directions are presented. The aim of future research is to advance scientific understanding of PTSD, neurocognitive impairments, and related conditions, with the goal of improving outcomes for those who encounter trauma.

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